Ok, so that’s not by any means European dish. It screams American and actually screams: American fall. I love all the flavors of this season: pumpkins, squashes, apple sider, turkey etc. Even though I am trying to share my heritage on this blog, I cannot simply disregard this wonderful season and not share something that I recently developed and it’s out of this world – my Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash.

Few weeks ago we drove to the east of Long Island to spend half a day on the farms, get a pumpkin, apples and whatever else we could have found. Our aunt, who lives around there and knows me and my unconditinal love for fresh, good quality food, had the entire itinerary for us.

First stop on her list was a huge farm stand. You could get there anything you wanted. So, we all got separated. Everyone went to buy their own produce and when we met by the car, I was asked what did I get. I simply replied: everything… I mean everything: white cabbage, red cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, different kinds of squashes…. etc. I cannot even remember what else was in my basket. But one of the squashes was the Acorn Squash.

I’m very comfortable with Butternut Squash. I absolutely love it and cook it often. You can check one of my favorites butternut squash recipes: Truffled Butternut Squash and Mushroom Soup. I have never cooked with Acorn Squash, though.

Except for summer squashes, like zucchinis, the winter squashes are not very popular in Poland. Maybe they are right now, but for sure I did not know them when I was growing up. And because I do love trying new things and pushing my comfortable buttons, I decided to tackle this amazing vegetable (or should I said fruit, as it technically is fruit because of its seeds). I knew I could roast it and I knew I could stuff it. That’s how my Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash was born.

One night I told my husband that I wanted to make this squash, stuffed with turkey. It didn’t resonate well with him. He told me that, “again, I am turning him into vegan”. The fact that it was filled with meat didn’t matter. What was important is that I was serving the WHOLE veggie for him and this were supposed to be a star of the night.

Even though he likes to complaint about vegetables, I usually do what I have planed to do. So, I served it. He took the first bite. And there was a silence. And then he looked at me and said: “do never do that to me again…and that’s all I’m gonna say”. He was simply speechless. That’s how amazing my Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash was.

Ever since this dinner, my husband kept telling me: “you need to put it on the blog”, “you need to put it on the blog”. And this weekend, he said it again, “please make this acorn squash dish and post it”. It’s AMAZING and the season is here.

So, here we come. It was our dinner last night and it was pretty spectacular. It takes some time, just because the squash needs to roast, but it is very simple. Once you cut the squash and remove the seeds, it needs to be brushed with olive oil, seasoned and baked for an hour.

In the meantime, you need to make the stuffing. First brown the turkey meat, then took it out and in the same pan saute some onions with dried thyme and celery. The fragrance will be amazing already, add apples, dried cranberries and put the meat back to the pan. Cook it for a while, add breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and you’re done. Season with salt and pepper and wait for your squash to be done roasting.

Field the squash with the turkey staffing and place it back in the oven for another 15 minutes and your incredible Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash is ready to be consumed. Enjoy 🙂

Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time:15minutes

Cook Time:1hour15minutes

Total Time:1hour30minutes

Servings:2-3

Author:Innocent Delight

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Ingredients

1large Acorn Squash or 2 small ones, cut in the half

1lbsof ground turkey

1/2large, yellow onions, chopped

1celery stalk, chopped

1/4cupdried cranberries

1/2apple, peeled and chopped

1/2teaspoonof dried thyme

1tablespoonof plain bread crumbs

3tablespoonsof grated parmesan cheese

1teaspoonconcentrated chicken stock(optional)

1/4teaspoonof garlic salt

3tablespoonof olive oil

Salt and pepper for taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Cut the bottom and the top of the squash to have flat surfaces on both sides

Cut the squash in the middle (vertically)

Using a spoon scoop out all the seeds

Brush both halfs of the squash with olive oil, season with garlic salt and pepper

Place the squash in the oven and roast for 50 min to 1 hour

In the meantime heat up another tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet

Add turkey, season with salt and pepper and cook until the meat is cooked through

Remove the meat from the pan

Add some more olive oil

Add onions and dried thyme and cook until the onion is translucent (5 minutes)

Add celery, apple and cranberries and cook for another 3-4 minutes

Return the meat to the pan

Add chicken concentrate, salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes

Add breadcrumbs and cheese

Stir everything well and check for seasoning

Fill out the squash with the meat stuffing

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Recipe Notes

I used one big Acorn Squash and I ended up with a little bit of meat stuffing left out. If you have smaller squash you may want o use 2 small once instead of one big squash.

I made this tonight, super yummy!! The dried cranberries make this dish! I made with a leftover rotisserie chicken. Since I obviously didn`t have to cook turkey I sauteed the onion first but added the apple right away. I had to omit the thyme as I didn`t have it on hand. I used 1 squash which was pretty regular-sized and I wished it had more flesh to it. Half of a squash is a great portion size. The bread crumbs don`t seem to be necessary but I liked them as they added nice texture. I could see adding almond slivers as well. Thanks for a great recipe, I will make this again!

Hi Brittany, thanks so much for letting me know:) That’s super funny because when I told my husband for the first time what I am going to make he thought I’m changing him into vegetarian. Once he tried this dish, he went silent and said that it needs to go on the blog 🙂

Not sure about calories. I am not a nutritionist and asa food bigger I don’t think privileged to provide this kind of information. I’m sure there is plenty of website that can help you out with counting the calories.

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Hi, my name is Edyta Czaplicka Hannas and I live in New York, with my wonderful husband Eric and now two little cutie pies, Gabriel and Aiden. I'm originally from Poland and I love cooking and sharing my love for Mediterranean and European foods. Read More…

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Hi, my name is Edyta Czaplicka Hannas and I live in New York, with my wonderful husband Eric and now two little cutie pies, Gabriel and Aiden. I'm originally from Poland and I love cooking and sharing my love for Mediterranean and European foods. Read More…